"2013 COGO for Dummies" (me) for the HP Prime ?

In the current state with the HP Prime, app creation is very limited. If HP were to provide a software development kit for third party developers in the future, I could see potential there but as it stands I definitely think this calculator is meant for high school students. As a hobby I develop software for the HP 50g and from what I've seen so far there is a long way to go before anyone outside of HP will be able to create robust apps for the HP Prime in the same way we're able to with the 50g.

The bigger question for me is whether COGO on calculators is a dying trend or not. We seem to be obsessed with combining all we can into the smartphone. Even if the user experience suffers, the convenience of having everything on one device seems to be preferred. The HP Prime's combination of touch screen and dedicated keyboard I think would be ideal for data entry and creating a pleasant user interface. With expandable memory and a built-in GPS sensor the Prime would have a lot of potential. Now that's starting to sound like a smartphone, with a keyboard! Maybe a Bluetooth keypad to work with a touchscreen smartphone? Maybe HP should make a piece of keyboard hardware that would dock a smartphone for the screen with all the software on the phone...

Jacob

Thank you Jacob.

I've sent you an e-mail off line.

Cheers,

Derek

Bruce Carlson and a handful of others in a think tank developed a great COGO program that would run on a 32k Apple computer and a later was placed in a multitude of other formats by Name Brand Companies.

Thank you Bruce and others.....:good:

I am positive that someone can make put together COGO and data collection format that will run on a smart phone.

Now I wish that computer language was an option when my college requirements said I needed a second language course.

B-)

Jacob:

I think you are correct no one wants to use a calculator any longer it seems the smart phone is the device of choice. Those of us who do own a smart phone have a problem as PDAs are gone and I am not going to buy a phone I don't use just to do calculations. I have looked at the Apple iPad Touch as a platform for my calculation needs or the iPad Mini, we will see what the future brings.

I have been playing with my new HP Prime for a few days as I have watched the price drop $30 in a week, so much for having the latest gadget. I must say that I am disappointed in the calculator because it isn't really aimed at math users but rather students. I don't see how I could use it as a productive tool, unless it was fully programed for COGO use. I can see that it is a student calculator, however I even question that use as it is full of canned solutions , APPS as they are called. I don't see much benefit teaching a student trig and giving them a calculator with a triangle solver built in. The APPs also cover quadratics and a linear solver. This is all very slick but probably not what a surveyor is looking for. I will stick with my HP35s and HP50g for now.

T.W.

Thanks all.

Jacob has me looking to the HP 50G with his software.

Cheers,

Derek